My thoughts...Wisdom from over the years

Vocals for women only Part 3 of 3

Getting proper feedback is such a great tool for growth in any musician. For a singer there are a couple of essentials. The number one tool that most women fear is THE MIRROR! In my teaching I make it so that it’s almost impossible to avoid looking at oneself in the mirror, but you would be amazed at some of the creative methods women use to avoid looking at themselves!! I have to ask myself, are these the same women who will spend hours plucking and brushing and applying every possible lotion/ointment/make-up imaginable?! It’s quite amusing actually. Men have no problem looking in the mirror. Why is that? But we women are deathly afraid. So to all those mirror phobic women out there, I have three important words for you…”GET OVER IT!” Trust me, the mirror is your friend. You NEED your mirror. Being able to see how you stand, how you breathe, how you shape your mouth, and whether or not your muscles are relaxed is absolutely essential to making sure you are singing properly. Your teacher/coach can’t be there to watch you when you practice at home. The only hope you have of insuring that you are properly employing what you’ve learned and developing good habits is to check yourself constantly, as your teacher would.

EMOTIONAL FRAGILITY

Women tend to be very in touch with their feelings and therefore more connected emotionally to their singing. I can’t tell you the countless times women will end up in tears at the end of a lesson. Women also have to fight the tendency to be competitive in their singing, even in a worship setting. Being “emotionally integrated” beings, we tend to connect our ability to sing with who we ARE. Anyone, man or woman, can fall into this trap. Therefore we –especially as women- need to be clear on who we are in Christ first, who we are as a person second and then who we are as a singer. If we lose track of this we can easily fall into the trap of comparing ourselves continually and this can be destructive, not only to ourselves but to any group or team we’re singing with.